How Much Does Shopify Take From Each Sale?

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Two Pillars of Shopify Fees
3. How Much Does Shopify Take? A Plan-by-Plan Breakdown
4. The Math of the Upgrade: When Does it Make Sense?
5. Why Digital Products and Courses are the Ultimate Margin Hack
6. Hidden Costs: Apps, Currency, and Refunds
7. Building a "Native" Powerhouse: The Tevello Advantage
8. Real-World Scenario: The Coffee Roaster’s Expansion
9. Practical Steps to Lower Your Shopify Fees
10. The Importance of Predictable Pricing
11. Diversifying Revenue Streams for Stability
12. Conclusion
13. FAQ

Introduction

Did you know that the global e-learning market is projected to soar past $460 billion by 2026? For the modern merchant, this isn't just a statistic; it represents a seismic shift in how we think about profit margins. When you sell a physical product, such as a hand-poured candle or a bag of organic coffee, your "take-home" pay is constantly squeezed by the rising costs of raw materials, shipping, and storage. But what happens when you add a digital layer to that business? Suddenly, the math changes. However, before you can master your margins, you have to answer the most fundamental question in the ecosystem: how much does Shopify take from each sale?

Understanding the cost of doing business on Shopify is the first step toward building a sustainable brand. Many merchants see the monthly subscription fee as their only expense, only to be surprised when their monthly statement shows deductions for credit card processing and transaction fees. These costs aren't arbitrary; they power the secure checkout, fraud protection, and hosting infrastructure that allows your store to scale globally. However, if you don't understand the nuance between a 2.9% fee and a 2.4% fee, or how a third-party gateway can quietly eat 2% of your revenue, you might be leaving thousands of dollars on the table.

In this guide, we will pull back the curtain on Shopify’s fee structure. We will explore the differences between processing fees and transaction fees, break down the costs associated with every major Shopify plan, and provide a roadmap for optimizing your store to keep more of what you earn. Our mission at Tevello is to turn any Shopify store into a digital learning powerhouse, and part of that mission involves helping you navigate the financial realities of e-commerce with clarity and confidence. By the end of this article, you will have a clear thesis: while Shopify provides the engine for your growth, your choice of plan and payment strategy determines how much fuel—and profit—remains in your tank.

The Two Pillars of Shopify Fees

To understand how much Shopify takes from each sale, you must first distinguish between two separate but often confused costs: payment processing fees and third-party transaction fees.

1. Payment Processing Fees (The Credit Card Toll)

Every time a customer swipes a card or enters their digits online, someone has to move that money from the customer’s bank to yours. This is handled by a payment processor. If you use Shopify Payments—the platform’s native solution—Shopify acts as that processor.

The processing fee is usually a percentage of the total transaction plus a small flat fee (e.g., 2.9% + $0.30). This fee is unavoidable in the world of online commerce. Whether you use Shopify, Stripe, or a traditional bank merchant account, you will always pay a processing fee to the financial networks.

2. Third-Party Transaction Fees (The "Non-Native" Penalty)

This is where many merchants get caught off guard. Shopify wants you to use their native tools because they are more integrated and secure. If you choose to use a third-party payment gateway like PayPal, Amazon Pay, or a local provider, Shopify charges an additional transaction fee. This fee ranges from 0.5% to 2% depending on your plan level.

At Tevello, we believe merchants should own their customer data and brand experience. This is why we emphasize a native Shopify integration. By keeping everything within the Shopify ecosystem, you not only provide a smoother experience for your customers—who never have to leave your URL to access their purchases—but you also avoid unnecessary "middleman" fees that can erode your profit margins.

How Much Does Shopify Take? A Plan-by-Plan Breakdown

The amount Shopify takes from each sale is directly tied to the monthly plan you choose. As your business grows, the "tax" you pay per transaction generally decreases, making it more cost-effective to upgrade your plan as your volume increases.

The Basic Plan: Starting the Journey

The Basic plan is the entry point for most new entrepreneurs. It costs $39 per month (or $29 if billed annually).

• Online Credit Card Rates: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
• In-Person (POS) Rates: 2.6% + $0.10.
• Third-Party Transaction Fee: 2.0% (if not using Shopify Payments).

For a small merchant selling a $50 product, the processing fee would be $1.75. If that merchant is not using Shopify Payments, they would pay an additional $1.00 (2%) to Shopify, bringing the total "take" to $2.75 on a $50 sale. This plan is perfect for testing the waters, but once you start moving significant volume, these percentages start to sting.

The "Shopify" (Grow) Plan: Scaling Up

The mid-tier plan, often called the "Grow" plan, is designed for businesses with consistent sales. It costs $105 per month (or $79 billed annually).

• Online Credit Card Rates: 2.6% + $0.30 per transaction.
• In-Person (POS) Rates: 2.5% + $0.10.
• Third-Party Transaction Fee: 1.0% (if not using Shopify Payments).

The drop from 2.9% to 2.6% might seem small, but on $10,000 of monthly sales, that 0.3% difference saves you $30 every month. If you are doing $20,000 a month, the savings alone cover a significant portion of the increased subscription cost.

The Advanced Plan: For High-Volume Success

The Advanced plan is built for established brands that need robust reporting and the lowest possible transaction rates. It costs $399 per month (or $299 billed annually).

• Online Credit Card Rates: 2.4% + $0.30 per transaction.
• In-Person (POS) Rates: 2.4% + $0.10.
• Third-Party Transaction Fee: 0.6% (if not using Shopify Payments).

At this level, you are optimizing for every fraction of a percentage point. Businesses at this stage are often generating over €243,000 by upselling existing customers, and at that scale, reducing fees from 2.9% to 2.4% results in thousands of dollars in annual savings.

The Math of the Upgrade: When Does it Make Sense?

One of the most common mistakes Shopify merchants make is staying on a lower-tier plan for too long. They see the $399 price tag of the Advanced plan and feel sticker shock, failing to realize that their current 2.9% fee is actually costing them more than the higher subscription fee would.

To determine if you should upgrade, you need to calculate your "break-even" point. Subtract the processing rate of the higher plan from your current rate. Then, divide the difference in monthly subscription costs by that percentage difference.

For example, moving from Basic (2.9%) to Shopify (2.6%) is a 0.3% difference. The difference in monthly subscription (monthly billing) is $66 ($105 - $39). $66 / 0.003 = $22,000. If your store is processing more than $22,000 per month, you are actually losing money by staying on the Basic plan. If unifying your stack is a priority, start by a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses.

Why Digital Products and Courses are the Ultimate Margin Hack

When people ask "how much does Shopify take from each sale," they are usually worried about the 2.9%. But the biggest "cut" from any sale isn't Shopify's fee—it's the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). For a physical product merchant, shipping, packaging, and inventory might take 50-70% of the revenue.

This is where the Tevello philosophy comes in. We enable merchants to add digital products, such as online courses, memberships, and communities, to their existing stores.

• Zero Shipping Costs: A digital course doesn't require a cardboard box or a courier.
• Zero Inventory Risk: You never run out of digital "stock."
• Higher Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): A customer who buys a physical product might never return. A customer who joins a community or buys a course is engaged for the long term.

By generating revenue from both physical and digital goods, you effectively dilute the impact of Shopify's transaction fees. While Shopify still takes their percentage, your net profit on a $100 digital course is significantly higher than on a $100 physical item. This is the strategy used for driving 50% of sales from repeat course purchasers.

Hidden Costs: Apps, Currency, and Refunds

Beyond the standard percentages, there are a few "hidden" ways your revenue can be impacted.

1. App Subscriptions

Shopify’s core platform is powerful, but most merchants need apps to handle specific tasks like email marketing, advanced reviews, or selling courses. Some apps charge "success fees" or a percentage of your sales. At Tevello, we reject this model. We offer predictable pricing without hidden transaction fees, charging a flat rate of $29.99 per month for our Unlimited Plan. This means whether you sell one course or one thousand, your costs remain fixed.

2. Currency Conversion Fees

If you sell internationally and use Shopify Payments, there is often a 1.5% to 2% currency conversion fee when converting the customer's payment into your local payout currency. This is on top of the standard processing fee.

3. The Cost of Refunds

When you refund a customer, Shopify (and most other processors) does not return the credit card processing fee to you. You lose that 2.9% + $0.30 permanently. This makes high return rates particularly painful for Shopify merchants. Digital products help mitigate this risk, as they typically have much lower return rates than physical products like apparel.

Building a "Native" Powerhouse: The Tevello Advantage

At Tevello, our mission is to ensure that your Shopify store isn't just a storefront, but a comprehensive learning ecosystem. When you use our app, you are utilizing a unified login that reduces customer support friction. Your customers buy a physical item, and in the same checkout process, they can add a masterclass or a community membership.

Because we offer digital products that live directly alongside physical stock, the customer experience is seamless. They don't get redirected to a third-party site like Teachable or Kajabi. They stay on your URL, browsing your products, and building brand loyalty. This native approach is essential for migrating over 14,000 members and reducing support tickets. When everything is under one roof, there are fewer moving parts to break and fewer "leaks" in your profit bucket.

Our flat-rate plan that supports unlimited members ensures that as your community grows, your costs don't spiral out of control. We believe in avoiding per-user fees as the community scales, allowing you to focus on engagement rather than counting pennies per student.

Real-World Scenario: The Coffee Roaster’s Expansion

Imagine a boutique coffee roaster. They sell bags of beans for $20. After Shopify takes its ~3% ($0.60), and after paying for the beans, the roasting process, the bag, and the shipping, their profit might only be $5.00 per bag.

Now, imagine that same roaster uses Tevello to launch a "Home Barista Masterclass" for $49.

1. Transaction Fee: Shopify takes 2.9% + $0.30, which is $1.72.
2. Tevello Fee: $0.00 (because we have 0% transaction fees).
3. Net Profit: $47.28.

The roaster would have to sell nearly ten bags of coffee to make the same profit they earn from one digital course sale. By seeing how the app natively integrates with Shopify, this merchant can transform their business from a low-margin physical goods store into a high-margin brand authority. This is how you stop worrying about how much Shopify takes and start focusing on how much you can create.

Practical Steps to Lower Your Shopify Fees

While you can't eliminate fees entirely, you can certainly optimize them. Here is a checklist for the savvy merchant:

• Audit Your Payment Gateway: If you aren't using Shopify Payments, calculate if the 0.5% - 2.0% third-party fee is worth the benefits of your current provider. In 95% of cases, switching to Shopify Payments is the smarter move.
• Run a Quarterly "Break-Even" Analysis: Don't let your volume outgrow your plan. If you've seen a surge in sales, check if comparing plan costs against total course revenue justifies an upgrade to the Shopify or Advanced plan.
• Consolidate Your Apps: Are you paying for five different apps that a single powerhouse like Tevello could replace? Our Unlimited Plan includes all the key features for courses and communities, including video hosting, quizzes, and drip content.
• Encourage Domestic Payments: International cards often carry higher fees. While you want to sell globally, focus your marketing efforts on regions where your processing fees are lowest if you are operating on razor-thin margins.
• Solve Login Friction: One of the biggest drains on revenue is customer support time spent on "I can't log in" tickets. By solving login issues by moving to a native platform, you reduce the overhead costs associated with every sale.

The Importance of Predictable Pricing

In the e-commerce world, unpredictability is the enemy of growth. If your software costs fluctuate based on how many students you have or how much revenue you generate, it becomes impossible to forecast your end-of-year profits accurately.

This is why Tevello’s Unlimited Plan is priced at a flat $29.99 per month. We want you to scale. We want you to have 10,000 students. We want you to upload hundreds of hours of video content. And we want you to do it all without looking at your billing statement with dread. By securing a fixed cost structure for digital products, you can reinvest those savings into Facebook ads, better equipment, or new product development.

Diversifying Revenue Streams for Stability

The goal of understanding how much Shopify takes from each sale is to eventually reach a point where those fees are a negligible part of a much larger, more diverse revenue stream. When you rely solely on physical products, you are vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and shipping price hikes.

By integrating a community or a course, you create recurring revenue stability. Subscription models—where Shopify takes a cut of a monthly recurring fee—provide a "floor" for your business earnings. Even in a slow month for physical sales, your community members keep the lights on. This is the ultimate way to increase Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). Instead of a one-off transaction, you have a relationship.

Conclusion

Understanding how much Shopify takes from each sale is about more than just reading a pricing table; it’s about mastering the economics of your business. From the standard 2.9% + $0.30 on the Basic plan to the optimized rates of Shopify Plus, every fraction of a percent represents money that can either be lost to the "toll road" of e-commerce or reinvested into your brand’s future. By choosing the right plan, utilizing native integrations like Shopify Payments, and diversifying your offerings with high-margin digital products, you can significantly tip the scales in your favor.

At Tevello, we are committed to providing an all-in-one ecosystem where physical products, digital courses, and community engagement live side-by-side. Our $29.99 Unlimited Plan is designed to be the most merchant-friendly option on the market, offering 0% transaction fees so you keep 100% of what you earn from your courses and memberships. We invite you to install Tevello from the Shopify App Store today and take advantage of our 14-day free trial. You can build your entire curriculum, set up your community, and see the native integration in action before paying a cent.

To build your community without leaving Shopify, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

Does Shopify take a percentage of my digital course sales?

Shopify collects its standard credit card processing fee (e.g., 2.9% + $0.30) on every transaction processed through its checkout, regardless of whether the product is physical or digital. However, when you use Tevello to power those courses, we charge 0% transaction fees on our end. You only pay Shopify's standard rates and our flat monthly subscription.

Can I avoid the 2% third-party transaction fee?

Yes. The 2% fee is only charged if you use a third-party payment gateway like PayPal or Stripe independently. If you enable Shopify Payments, this additional fee is waived entirely across all plans. This is the most effective way to lower the total amount Shopify takes from each sale.

What happens to the fees if I refund a digital product?

If you issue a refund for a digital course or membership, Shopify will return the total purchase amount to the customer, but they typically keep the original credit card processing fee. Because digital products don't have shipping or physical COGS, a refund is less financially damaging than a physical return, but it still results in the loss of that initial processing percentage.

Is there a limit to how many students or courses I can have?

On many platforms, fees increase as you add more students. With Tevello's Unlimited Plan, you get unlimited courses and students for one flat price of $29.99 per month. We believe you shouldn't be penalized for being successful, so we provide the bandwidth and hosting you need to scale your digital learning powerhouse without extra costs. Start your 14-day free trial and build your first course now to see how easy it is to manage.